Optical fibers are becoming widespread for transmission purposes. Large scale optical fiber "wiring", and in particular "wiring" for large cities, requires various types of means for interconnecting optical fibers. Basic fiber-to-fiber interconnection is by putting two fibers end-to-end.
The Applicant's European patent applications 84 400 448.1 (published under the number 0 122 169) and 84 401 575.1 corresponding to U.S. applications Ser. No. 586,748, filed Mar. 6, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,284; and Ser. No. 636,738, filed Aug. 1, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,962, respectively, describe a technique for performing said basic fiber-to-fiber interconnection under conditions which are satisfactory both from the cost and from the performance points of view.
Another problem occurs in optical fiber cabling. The signal present on one optical fiber must also be capable of being distributed to a plurality of other fibers, and most often to two other fibers. The term "optical fiber coupler-distributer" is used herein to designate a device capable of performing this function.
Previous known solutions for providing optical fiber coupler-distributers have required difficult fabrication operations, in particular because of the need to obtain very accurate positioning of the fibers relative to one another.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a novel solution which is greatly simplified.